Courtesy of sweetslyrics.com
Ascending the steps to the above-21 crowd’s section of the Electric Factory, we grabbed a beer and settled into our standing location and waited for the concert to begin. Sounds of Abbey Road-era Beatles filled the venue and seemed to get everyone in the mood for the real concert to begin.
After a beer’s worth of waiting, Adele’s opening act the Civil Wars took to the minimalist, black curtain back-dropped stage. The Civil Wars are a Nashville-based duo composed of California-to-Nashville transplant Joy Williams and Alabama-born John Paul White. Much of their setlist was comprised of music from their first full-length album, Barton Hollow. The duo has a folk, blues sound with notes of their country roots. Throughout their simple set, which consisted of duets and White on acoustic guitar, the interplay between the two was fantastic. The Civil Wars are talented and likeable. Their cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” was one of their best songs. It is one of my favorite covers, the slow, deeper rendition brought a new level to the song.
After the Civil Wars departed the stage, the crowd was buzzing with the anticipation of seeing Adele. After what seemed like an eternity, the piano player stepped out from behind the curtain to his piano and began to play the opening the Adele’s “Hometown Glory”. Screams of excitement erupted in the crowd as Adele appeared on stage in her usual black jumper and bouffant hair-do. After snapping a photo of the crowd, she began to sing. Her voice is so pure and came out ringing like a bell from the opening of the concert.
As her second song “I’ll Be Waiting”, off of her new album 21, began to play and Adele’s voice opened up even more the black curtain dropped to reveal the rest of her band and two backup singers. From the ceiling hung about ten lamps with antique looking shades that lit up and punctuated the rest of her set giving the audience the feeling that they were just watching Adele performing from the comfort of her own London living room.
After being showered with gifts tossed on stage by adoring fans, Adele snapped a couple more photos and continued telling the stories behind her music. Stories of love, heartbreak, friendship, and even about her “wiener” dog that she was unable to bring on tour. Although parts of Adele’s stories got lost in her heavy Tottenham accent, her reason for singing the Cure’s “Lovesong” was in tribute to one of her mother’s favorite bands. Adele’s smooth voice caressed the notes of the song and proved again and again just how talented she truly is. Her concert was heartfelt and honest, it was obvious that she wasn’t afraid to put everything out there and as a member of the audience you felt like you really got to know Adele.
Adele’s encore was one of the songs that I had been waiting for the entire concert. After kicking off her heals, Adele sat down with her guitar and began to play “Someone Like You” as she originally wrote it. She had explained that she loved this song because it is one that people can emotionally connect to in a really powerful way. Not one to become overly emotional, I was surprised when I could feel a few tears welling up in my eyes as she sang.
There is something about Adele that connects to her audience. She is extremely down-to-earth and knows how to give a concert. I couldn’t have spent my 21st birthday any better and certainly can’t wait for Adele’s next trip to Philadelphia.
Adele’s Setlist @ The Electric Factory- May 13, 2011
- “Hometown Glory”
- “I’ll Be Waiting”
- “Don’t You Remember”
- “Turning Tables”
- “Set Fire to the Rain”
- “If It Hadn’t Been For Love”- Cover
- “My Same”
- “Take It All”
- “Rumor Has It”
- “Right As Rain”
- “One and Only”
- “Lovesong”- Cover
- “Chasing Pavements”
- “Make You Feel My Love”
- “Someone Like You”
- “Rolling in the Deep”
9 Golden Eggs
